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.“I’m supposed to be bringing a bottle of wine over to Astrid’s tonight.”“When?”“A half hour ago!”“Go then,” Mary Ellen said.Before she could escape, her friend added, “Do you think there are any good men left? I mean, for women our age?”“Thirty-six is hardly ancient.I’ll call later.Promise.”Leah disconnected the call.Hurrying toward the bathroom, she pondered her friend’s last question.Are there any good men left? she reflected.I guess it depends on your definition of ‘good’, doesn’t it?Good, as in hard-working?Good, as in, ‘in bed’?Good, as in loyal?One out of three is possible.Two out of three, somewhat less likely.Three out of three?It might just be the impossible dream.Chapter TwoLeah tapped at the apartment door.When no one answered, she tried again.Astrid claimed to have found Mr.Right.At last.Josh had a steady job in computers and appeared devoted to his girlfriend.So, he was hard-working and loyal but it was early in their relationship.Was he everything he pretended to be?Was he good in bed?Astrid hadn’t yet shared that particular bit of information.Uncomfortably enough, she left Leah with the impression that she just might lift that veil, too, if given the slightest motivation to do so.It was out of character for her friend to be so revealing but, lately, Astrid’s personality had been undergoing a change.“I’ve been coloring outside of the lines,” is the way she put it.Speaking of Astrid, where are you, girl? Leah knocked more forcefully.You didn’t answer when I called and you haven’t replied to my text.I’m sorry I’m late but that’s kind of my deal.I’m almost always late.But it’s not just me, I swear.It’s all writers.F.Scott missed so many dinner engagements, Zelda refused to take him anywhere but Pollo Loco.And wasn’t it Dr.Seuss who pondered how it got so late so soon?Fishing into her purse, Leah found the key her friend had given her for emergencies.Opening the door, she went in.The front room was empty of life.There was a new art print on the wall beside the patio door and some fresh carnations in a clear glass vase on the round kitchen table.Leah placed her bottle of wine on the counter separating the kitchen from the living room.Finding the remote control, she dropped onto the sofa and pointed the device at the television screen across from her.She clicked the ON button.Nothing happened.She kept pressing the power button, still without response.Uh-oh, she thought.If the set’s busted, I’m out of here.Astrid lives for her fantasy shows.I’m not going to be the one to tell her that Game of Thrones is gone.To her inexperienced eyes, the television appeared to be fine.Even on a closer examination, nothing seemed out of order.When she looked below the black screen, she found the power cord unplugged from the wall.“What’s this?” She lifted the plug, wondering if it was broken.In the still air around her, she heard a creaking sound.Straightening, she held her breath.The creaking sound repeated itself.Is Astrid home, after all? she wondered.Or is somebody else here? Josh maybe?What if somebody’s here that shouldn’t be?Creeping forward, she eased her cellphone from her purse.Slipping the flats from her feet, she padded silently down the hallway.The noise grew louder the further she walked.The sound appeared to be coming from the end of the hallway, inside Astrid’s bedroom.Even though the bedroom door was open, she couldn’t see anyone.Instead, she saw the image of the hallway itself, reflected from floor to ceiling.Astrid – or Josh – had mounted mirrors to the bedroom walls.Inching her way to the opposite side of the hall, Leah used this new angle to peek into the bedroom.With the mirrors giving her an eye into the bedroom, she immediately saw what was causing the creaking sounds.Faced away from her, Astrid’s boyfriend was naked.He was on his knees, his broad shoulders bent forward.His tight ass arched forward.When it did, Leah realized there was another person on the bed, her legs spread for her lover.Josh thrust again and the woman moaned.It was Astrid moaning.Her pale, willowy body bounced on the mattress.Reaching up, her polished fingernails scratched down the sides of Josh’s body.Supported by his powerful arms, he turned his head, his long, brown hair draped across his back.He saw Leah’s reflection, captured in the glass around him.He grinned.Still watching Leah, knowing she could see, he pulled out of his girlfriend.His cock, swollen and ready, lifted in front of him.Astrid cried out for him, her hands clutching his ass as her blonde head started to lift from the bed.Feeling her entire body flush, Leah rushed down the hallway.Reaching the front door, she remembered she was barefoot.Clutching her sandals, she passed the kitchen table and spotted the gift she’d brought.I need this more than Astrid does, she thought.Grabbing the bottle of wine, she went onto the landing and ran down the steps.Chapter ThreeThe classroom slowly filled around her.As the minute hand moved to the start of the hour, Astrid joined Leah at the table they shared.“You okay?”“Fine.” Two nights later, Leah still hadn’t forgotten what she’d seen – and she doubted she ever would.Worse, her memory seemed to grow more vivid each time she revisited her experience.She couldn’t help but wonder if Josh had told Astrid about her visit.I didn’t intend to be a voyeur, Leah thought ruefully.Not that I had much choice.Mirrors, ceiling to floor?I thought you were a Girl Scout, Astrid Iversen, but I was wrong.Girl Scouts don’t watch their own cellulite bounce as they wiggle beneath their boyfriend.All that glass, it has to be like watching yourself in IMAX.Leah set her supplies on the work table.Intensely aware of Astrid’s presence, she tried to concentrate on something else.At the front of the room, a three-piece folding screen had been erected.Behind the screen, Serena Ledesma was undressing.Serena’s been our only model this entire semester, Leah thought.I don’t know why she bothers with the screen, anymore.Everyone here knows every inch of her perfectly-formed, twenty-one year old body.If she stood on my work table and dropped trou, I wouldn’t blink
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